Spanish researchers want to tag human embryos With bar codes.

Run_to_da_hills

"Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain have just finished testing a method for imprinting microscopic bar codes on mouse embryos a procedure they plan to test soon on humans.

The venture is meant to avoid mismatches during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedures. But privacy experts and children's rights advocates were instantly concerned by the concept of "direct labeling" of embryos, calling for transparency in the process.

“An embryo is a human life, so we have to move forward with this very, very cautiously,” Pam Dixon, executive director for the World Privacy Forum, told FoxNews.com. “Obviously we can’t ask the embryo what it wants, so the individual making the donation must consent to this as well as the individual receiving the donation. There’s got to be a lot of public discussion.”

This should be nipped in the bud immediately, once the door is opened in any way towards branding babies it will only develop further.

Next they will be telling us that RFID implants will also dissolve.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/13/tag-human-embryos-bar-codes/

mickoneill30

I don't know what they store human embryos in but I'd imagine a sticker with a barcode on a test tube would do the same job.

What's with the pic? I'm no doctor but I'm pretty sure those zombie looking people aren't embryos.

gizmo

You left out a few key points from the article...

The researchers insist that their technique is perfectly safe, claiming that the bar codes simply evaporate as the embryo develops into a fetus. Dr. Arthur Caplan, the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said that as long as development is not affected, any improvement on embryo transfer would be extremely beneficial -- since mistakes can be heartbreaking.

The bar codes aren't hidden or concealed -- in fact, they're easily observed through a standard microscope, and the research team hopes to develop an automatic code reading system when they perfect their technique for labeling mouse embryos.

The process involves injecting the bar codes, made from silicon, in the perivitelline space of embryos, the space between an embryo’s cell membrane and its protective outer cover, known as the zona pellucida. When the embryo attaches to the uterine wall, it frees itself from the zona pellucida, and the codes are meant to disappear right along with it, the researchers say.

So there's pretty much no chance they can remain during the growth process. That being said mickoneill30 could be right, surely stickers with barcodes on the test tubes would be enough. On the other hand I'm not familiar with the IF process myself and I couldn't imagine the heartbreak of someone going through the process only to find out the specimens had been mixed up.

robtri

all i can say is that is so cool to be able to do that...

in fairness RTDH... things move on from pencil and paper... nothign to be scared of ...